UMass hospital in Worcester pays $66,000 settlement

BOSTON (AP) — A Worcester hospital has agreed to pay $66,000 to settle allegations that it improperly sent bills for uninsured patients to a homeless shelter so it could tap the state for payments.

According to court documents, UMass Memorial Medical Center sent unpaid bills for emergency care to an address where the patients did not live — the People in Peril homeless shelter in Worcester.

The case was brought to the attention of authorities by a former collections analyst at the hospital, who said he learned of the practice when a Canadian patient called to settle an emergency room bill for thousands of dollars. The worker alleged that the patient's address was listed as the shelter's location.